Execution is ruled out in death

Federal prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty against two men accused of causing the deaths of three illegal immigrants while trying to smuggle them to Jupiter Island last year, according to court documents.

No reason behind the decision is stated in court papers filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the prosecutor assigned to the case couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. Had prosecutors decided to pursue execution, it would have required approval of the U.S. Attorney General. Not seeking death means the case can be brought to trial sooner.

Capt. Rickey Thompson, 41, and mate Leon Brice Johnson, 39, together face 30 federal counts, including alien smuggling resulting in death, first-degree murder, conspiracy and drug charges. Their trial is tentatively set for March, and they still face up to life in prison on some of the charges.

Thompson and Brice were arrested in December 2006 after their speedboat crashed in rough seas off Jupiter Island while smuggling a group of illegal immigrants in from the Bahamas. Authorities discovered the body of Nigel Warren, a Jamaican citizen, in the surf, and other illegal immigrants from Jamaica, Haiti and Romania told authorities he was forced into the water at gunpoint despite being unable to swim.

Investigators said it was not the first time one of the pair's smuggling trips ended in death.

In August 2006, the two men allegedly caused the deaths of Roselyne Lubin and Alnert Charles, both Haitian citizens, who were suspected of being forced off the boat near Jupiter Island in a similar manner as Warren. The surviving illegal immigrants picked Thompson and Johnson out of a photo lineup, but the two were not caught until December, when the Martin County Sheriff's Office caught them trying to get into a taxi a day after the boat crash.

The men also face federal drug charges after investigators found a kilogram of cocaine and 83 pounds of marijuana on the boat in December, as well as 12 kilograms of cocaine that were dumped along with the illegal immigrants in August.

Defense attorney Michael Gary Smith, who represents Johnson, said the government's decision was not unexpected, but declined to discuss details of the case.

Thompson's attorney could not be reached for comment.

Two attorneys who were appointed to assist the defense if the government sought execution were dismissed from the case by the judge after prosecutors announced their decision not to seek death.